Zeeland City Council votes to kill roundabout because of rising costs, including land purchase

ZEELAND -- Six months after approving construction of a roundabout at the city's western edge, the City Council killed the project because of increased costs, including $72,000 in unexpected land-acquisition expenses.

The council voted 6-0 to cancel construction of the roundabout at Washington and Main avenues, where both meet Chicago Drive.

The project had been slated to begin in August and finish in November.

The price tag initially had been estimated at $488,000 for the roadwork when approved last fall but has grown to $711,650, City Manager Tim Klunder said.

"While city staff still believes the roundabout would be a nice improvement for this intersection, the estimated increase in costs simply do not justify the overall benefits of the project," he said.

City officials initially did not believe they needed to purchase land for the roundabout.

However, when engineers began designing the project, they discovered a portion was part of a privately owned parcel instead of being city-owned.

The 0.41 acres, north of Washington, is owned by Landco Holdings LLC.

"The parcel, as it's shown on the (Ottawa County GIS) map, does not exist,' " said Bob Bruggink, president of engineering firm Moore and Bruggink Inc.

Klunder accepted responsibility for the oversight on the land acquisition.

City officials had set aside $144,500 for the roundabout and plan to reallocate it for other projects. The project also was earmarked for a $343,500 federal grant through the Macatawa Area Coordinating Council.

The Macatawa Area Coordinating Council said it would try to get the grant reassigned to another project in the Holland-Zeeland area.

"It's pretty late in the game to do that," MACC Transportation Program Manager Steve Bulthuis said.

Council members also had expressed concerns about redesigning the roundabout to work around a Consumers Energy Co. power pole on the north side of Washington.